Mike Dean is retiring after 22 years of football rule.
Now he is opening up about his career and denying the photos in which he was accused of celebrating the Spurs goal.
– I celebrated my remarkable decision to give an advantage, he says.
Over the years, Mike Dean has become famous as one of the most famous football referees in the world.
But now she is ready for the Englishman who ruled in Premier League for 22 years. In an interview with the Daily Mail, he now talks about several decisions over the years.
On several occasions, Dean has been accused of holding on to Spurs, with some saying he celebrated several Spurs goals.
Partly Louis Saha’s goal against Arsenal in the derby ten years ago and partly Moussa Dembele’s goal against Aston Villa 2015 where Dean is seen running with his arms straight towards goal.
“I celebrated my wonderful decision”
But Dean, a staunch supporter of Tranmere Rover, believes the situations are taken out of context and that he was simply happy with his decisions.
“I don’t think I celebrated Spurs’ goal, I celebrated my wonderful decision to give Spurs an advantage instead of a free kick,” he says.
– I love football and if I give an edge and do something, I give a thumbs up. But I didn’t do it on purpose.
Dean also opens up about a strange situation when he was seen sniffing the shirt of an assistant referee before the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City.
– I will not say that I smelled from the direct judge, I smelled his shirt. He had ‘oil’ on his shirt that spread into the player’s tunnel before the match and the smell didn’t want to go away… It was horrible so I had to smell it, he says.
“won’t top”
The 53-year-old also talks about his peak in his career. That was when Manchester City’s iconic turn against Queens Park Rangers ten years ago was judged when Sergio Aguero decided in stoppage time and pushed the title to City.
– It’s the best match I’ve been in because of what was at stake. I told my colleagues that one thing would happen and if they got a goal, they would do something else. This will never be bypassed because no team will ever win the league the same way again, he says.